Organizations today are going through an historical moment, with changes from all walks of life stealing the scene and obliging us to rethink ways of work, purpose, values,  and strategies to thrive in an increasingly complex and competitive world.

The wave of millennials determining different standards of employment, like flexible work, or their space in the organization, such as connecting the job with their sense of purpose, is already fading out as these elements are now embedded and became a norm for everyone.

Technologies are evolving in a way that redesigns life and shapes a globally connected society, allowing for the emergency of a faster-paced environment that urges for agility, open-mindedness, and creating unprecedented opportunities for growth.

Consciousness about the future of our planet dictates the urgency to adopt sustainable production processes, while consumers demand a healthier life, a better place to live, an enhanced sense of community, and a purposeful role in the society.

Inclusiveness is the word of order, as we all support the end of discrimination of any sort, recognizing that everyone has the right to be who they are, and nobody has been given the right to judge.

This orchestrated evolution of the world brings to life a likewise evolved version of us, human-beings.

Speaking of human-beings – or people – this happens to be our core business in HR. So, we are in a once-of-a-lifetime position to make a difference and carve our mark as a key contributor of every successful business.

In my view, these are the 4 key moments of truth for HR in the world of today:

Future of Work

We are in the centre of discussions reimagining new ways of working, especially in the post-pandemic reality. How to accommodate our people revisited routines, while making hybrid work effective for the organization? In the past we would struggle with the idea of allowing remote work, now we try to bring people back to the offices, when remote work became first choice of the majority.

" Move away from adopting several different technologies that are hype but will be disjointed and therefore only represent more complexity, instead of reaping the true benefits of a well-thought technological upgrade."

Before, we would praise long careers with the same organization; today we need to rethink career progression to consider short-term tenure and even project-based employment; which may add complexity to the current set up, but also gives us more opportunities to tap into a wider range of talent for key initiatives. In this sense, everything from talent management to employee relations can benefit from an out-of-the-box approach.

HR Technologies

Our HR processes are evolving to be simpler and more effective, and following this trend there is a boom in the technology space, with HR systems, including learning platforms, being reshaped to provide for a seamless and engaging experience to everyone, personalized accordingly to different roles in the organization.

The key here is to step back, understand the unique needs of the organization and define the ecosystem that will include technologies that complement each other, forming a coherent universe. Move away from adopting several different technologies that are hype but will be disjointed and therefore only represent more complexity, instead of reaping the true benefits of a well-thought technological upgrade.

Sustainability

This is a matter for all functions, all businesses, all organizations. Our role in HR is to ensure people are prepared for the mindset shift, by understanding what it means for the organizations in terms of production processes, relationships with customers and consumers, impact on communities, and our planet, then being enabled to work differently, lead differently, to collaborate with the overall accomplishment of sustainability commitments.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Starts from developing leaders to building diverse teams and promoting an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive– to then fostering a culture in which a sense of belonging prevails, and an atmosphere of trust and respect is undoubtedly in place. This is a journey that also pervades the whole organization, and we, in HR, lead by example and by implementing policies that pave the way.

As a professional in the field of learning and leadership development, I feel humble and privileged to be in a position from where we drive these changes under a capability building point-of-view. Enabling people to be successful in their roles, amidst all the changes we are going through, has never been more imperative. Our challenge is about fostering a learning culture, bringing the best employee experience into the realm of learning, and ensuring our initiatives are tightly connected with business drivers.

This is how we “move the needle” of the business, in the world of today, as HR strategic partners, as future-forward thinkers, and ultimately - as evolved human beings.